Imagine a place so remote that you don’t see another human being for days. Imagine a path through desolate valleys, mountains, and vast plains of sand, rocks, and clumps of dry grass. The Naukluft Hiking Trail in Namibia takes you through such a place.
It all begins in an old house on top of a small hill in what is known as the Namib-Naukluft Park in southwestern Namibia. Hikers Haven is the base camp for this amazing trail. Here you can enjoy a last beer, a grilled steak and a hot shower. Then follows 8 days lugging a heavy backpack through some of the most beautiful and desolate areas Namibia has to offer.
Normally, one needs to get up around 5 in the morning to be able to hit the road at 7. The first day is no exception and covers a distance of 14 km. There is a beautiful lookout at “Panorama” as one begins to climb into the mountains a few kilometers into the hike. Spend some time here and enjoy the view of the plain below.
From here the trail rises steadily into the Naukluft Mountains. A good place for lunch is “Fontein Kloof”. There are some big trees for shade and the spring is usually flowing.
As with most overnight shelters on this trail, the shelter at “Putte” for tonight is simply a square stone structure with a wall about 1.2m high, on which it stands. a tin roof with some steel pipes. The floor is gravel. Approximately 150 m from the refuge there is a well with a large steering wheel that must be turned to obtain water.
The second day is 15 km long and takes you to the famous Ubusis Kloof or ravine. The descent into the ravine is done with the help of a series of chains, some of which reach 30 m in length and serve as an aid to descend the cliffs. As one descends lower, a geologic time capsule is exposed in the rock layers to the sides. The landscape is quite impressive.
The Ubusis hut is the only “normal” lodge on this trail. This cabin used to be a small vacation home many years ago when the area still consisted of farms. Water is supplied by means of a wind pump and well.
The third day takes one out of Ubusis Kloof along the same path that he traveled the day before. At the top, once Bergpos is reached, the trail turns north through the Kudu Plains. This day is only 12 km long and is considered the easiest of all days.
At the end of the Kudu Plains is the Adlerhorst night shelter, which can be reached in the early evening. This leaves plenty of time to admire the scenery and relax a bit. The water is supplied again through a well with a handle at the top of the pipe.
When we got there, the opening to the well pipe was covered in hundreds of bees desperately waiting for someone to turn the handle and pump some water for them. No one was stung even once. It seems as if they realized that the humans who came to this place were their only hope of getting water.
Day four tends to be a bit tricky and is quite long at 17km. The hard part comes when one has to descend a waterfall in a dry riverbed with the help of a long chain. The angle of the rocks makes the descent difficult.
Further on there is another steep descent down the side of a mountain of loose slate. In the past, this has been the cause of hikers’ injuries from slipping on slate.
The Tsams-Ost night shelter contains a large water tank on a perch that receives water from a well and a wind pump. It is possible to have a cold shower standing under the tank.
The next day, day five, starts with a tough climb up the mountain behind the Tsams-Ost night hut, and covers another 17km.
Some hours later you reach the plain of Melkbos. This plain involves many kilometers of walking along sandy paths and along dry riverbeds. It is here that you are most likely to see herds of antelope such as Eland or Kudu grazing on the sparse grass and vegetation.
The night shelter of Die Valle is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the sun tends to set quite early behind these mountains. Water is left here in a small water tank which may not hold much water, especially late in the hiking season, so washing is very limited on this day.
The sixth day tends to be the longest and most difficult of the entire trek. Although it is only 16 km long, one spends most of the day going up.
Immediately after leaving the night shelter of Die Valle, there is a 200m vertical climb to the top of a waterfall. There, after, follows a gorge and a stream that feeds this waterfall for most of the day, always rising upwards.
It is along this gorge that one comes across some interesting geological formations called Toba. Tuff is a sedimentary rock that contains a large amount of carbonates that are deposited by water. It often forms in waterfalls or streams. Here, in this gorge, the tufa looks like a gigantic solidified waterfall. Higher up is a huge fig tree whose roots extend along a small cliff.
Once at the top of the gorge, there is a small flat plateau to cross before beginning the long descent along an old jeep track to the overnight shelter of Tufa. Be careful at the foot of the track as the refuge is almost hidden between some bushes on the left. The water is supplied again in the form of a well next to a dry stream bed about 150 m from the refuge.
The seventh day covers 14 km and takes you to the highest point and usually the coldest point of the trek in Kapokvlakte.
From the Tufa night shelter the trail crosses some very large rocks as it heads back into the mountains. At the base of the mountains that eventually lead up to Kapokvlakte, there are a few chains to help climb some of the more difficult cliff faces.
Once at the top, the trail follows a dry creek bed that climbs steadily until it reaches the top at World’s View. The name is very appropriate, as it can be seen many miles in the distance. It’s a good place to stop for a while and admire the view of the plains below and the mountains on the other side. From here the terrain is fairly flat and the going is easy.
The Kapokvlakte night shelter usually arrives in the early afternoon. The refuge is hidden behind a group of bushes that are practically the only larger vegetation in the area. The rest of the plateau is covered with short grass and the occasional small bush. Kapokvlakte can get very cold at night, and the use of a down sleeping bag is a must here.
The last day has finally arrived. At this point, everyone dreams of fat steaks and beer, but there is still 16 km to go. A few miles across the top of the plateau, and the trail makes its long descent along a winding gorge to Hikers Haven.
As the day gets warmer, more and more insects and other small creatures can be heard in this lonely gorge. Be careful to pick up rocks. Very often there are scorpions hiding under them.
As one descends the trail there are small pools with large trees on the sides that are good resting places. A few hundred yards from Hikers Haven, there is a campsite. Here one can meet the first other humans again after having spent so many days in the desert. By now you can also see the roof of the old house in Hikers Haven. Just a few hundred meters more and one is back. What a time it had been!
Now one can finally take a hot shower again! For those who brought in vacuum-packed meat and managed to keep it fresh in their cars during this period, there will be a party tonight!